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< ' Rocky Point was prominent
river crossing in 1800's
.
itor's note: J'he following
hisTOfy of Rocky Point, on the
¥issouri River north of Roy,
was written' for the Lewistown
News-Argus by Ralph Miracle
of Santa Barbara, Calif.)
'Rocky Point Crossing, on the
Missouri River, was just below _
the mouth of the creek named
, North Mountain by Lewis and
Clark in' 1805. This stream
tunning south from the Little
Rockies later became' Little
Rocky Mountain .Creek and­finally
Rock Creek. There is a
'solid shale reef at" this point
which provides a solid bottom
and a low-water ford. Through
the first half, of the nineteenth
ce51tury this location remained
, one of the recognized bends in
the great river in the area
between the mouth of the
Musselshell and the mouth of,
the Judith Rivers, a crossing
used by the buffalo and the
Indian tribes and ca campsite
used by traveler~ on the river.
With the' advent of the
. sf 'boats on the upper river
s,~g in 1860 the flat on the
south side of the river became
one of the many woodchopper
camps that were located all
along the river to provide fuel
for the fires to make steam to
propel the laboring boats. ,
First specific mention' of
Rocky Point' as a woodchop­pers'
camp se~ms to be 1868
when Lohmire and Lee are
mentioned as located there. A
scouting party traveling the
river from Camp Reeves at the
mouth of the Musselshell back
to Camp Cooke reported a
"Taber's cabin" along the south
bank. In 1871 fugitives'from an
Indian encounter sought refuge
at Rocky Point woodchopper's
camp. In 1873 Joe LaFontain
was at Rocky Point. '
During the election of 1878 a
two-room cabin ai, Rockv Point
was used as the polling place:
Carroll, j'!st below Rocky Point
rec~ived attention through Dia­mond
R promotion and estab­lishment
of Carroll Trail 1874- '
187/;. ,but the trail was danger­o
"inally Broadwater inter~
e~ransferredto Rocky Point,
designated as Wilder's landing
in the early 1880's.
Fort Maginnis was establish-'
ed in 1880 andth~:dis'coveries 'at
Maiden intensifiecf iriterest ' in
Rocky.Point as a landing' point..
The mIll machinery for Maiden
was unloaded 'at 'Rocky Point
and the \army established Can­tonment
Rocky £oint (May 15,
1881) to provide protection for
milita~y freight at that place.
,During the steamboat era
(1860-85) many of the larger
boats with freight for Fort
Benton unloaded at Rocky Point
during low-water periods and
their cargoes were either
freighted on by land or picked
up by smaller boats or at the
next high-water season. '
In 1882 the miiitary teleg~aph
line from Fort Buford, N. D. via
,Camp Poplar, Galpin and
Rocky Point to, Fort 'Maginnis
was completed and one' office
opened in Rocky Point.
With the completion of the
Northern Pacific Railroad in
1883 things began to change
along the river. The buffalo
trade was over and the country
was developing as a cattle
range. Carroll,even as a small
trading post, was deserted but
the disc'overy of placer goid in
the Little Rockies in 1884 gave
new life to Rocky Point.
Since the gold was in Indian
territory the easiest way to
avoid the military was to boat
down the river to Rocky Point,
outfit at R. A. Richie's store, '
cross on his ferry and proceed
to the diggings some 20 miles
north.." .
M. F. Marsh reported t at
Kid Curry and his brother,
Hank, stopped by and later
moved on to ride for the Circle
Bar. There was an effort to
abandon the voting precinct of
Rocky Point, but some 34 votes'
were cast just the same.
In 1885 the Castle discoveries
were made and Fergus County
was organized. Rocky Point
:c.onsist~dof one store, one hotel,
vne feed stable, two saloons, a
hl~clmfiiHi s!i6p aiia rerry
operated by Jimmy Tyler. One
'store was run by'Richiean'd the
other, providing a warehouse 40
by90 feet, was run by M. F,
Marsh, who also ran his bar and
hotel. '~ ,
In 1886 there were 53 votes
cast in the election and the
judges were: Richie Tyler and
Pike Landusky. Sf. Paul's
Mission was established up
,north on People's Creek and the
official post office was Wilder
,with Robert A. Richie as
postmaster,
The Great Northern reached
Helena in 1887 and the riverboat
trade was finally to end the next
year. Nevertheless, one hurt­dred
and twenty are reported to
have wintered in Rocky Point '
utilizing the store, two saloons
and an eating house. There was
a robbery of Marsh's till
perpetuated by~George Blan­che.
There were still military
personnel in town and just down
the river the, Circle Bar
cowcamp had twenty, cowboys
on the payroll. This was the bad
winter that struck so hard at the
cattle industry and many herds
were slated to move north with
some crossing at Rocky Point.
In 1888 the last boat went to
Fort Benton and WalterS.
Collins was postmaster.
,Marsh's saloon burned 'down
and he rented a building from
~~ Bartlett. Only 21 votes
were cast in the election and
veteran tne'rchant R. A.-Ritchie
moved to Glasgow where he
died of typhoid fever.
In 1889 Montana: became a
state, Philander D. Freese
Marsh's ranch partner, becain~
postmaster.' All of Choteau
County ,south of the Missouri
River was traded off to Fergus
, Co~nty' for .$2,500,' so ·Rocky
Po~nt (or, ,Wlld~r) becam~ Plu~t
of Fergus C~up.ty., '\".'
'1":"1 __"- .... ,, _ _ ! 0"' .
Fort Maginnis was abandon
ed in 1890. The next year (1891
M.F. Marsh bought thl
Spokane House in Big Sand'
'from Paul Handley and P. Ii
Freese moved with him to mal
'the desk.'
Marsh was still listed a
postmaster in, 1894 at Rock
Point and then it was transfer
red to Fredrick J. Bourdon. II
1895 A; L. Monroe was appoint
~d postmaster on July ?6th an4
In October James Tyler tool
over.
As the century ended: Rock'
Point still remained as a rive~
crossing with aferry and wit!
an operating store and bar tl
serve the surrounding catU4
and mining country. Later thl
Wilder post office was move(
down the river. The mostl'
abandoned buildings remaine;
and some are still to som4
extent intact.
Tex Alford maintained I
place for,refreshment and evel
into the prohibition years
Rocky~oint was still on "thl
owlhoot trail" for those wh(
wanted to takeadvant.age of it:
continued isolation in the bad
lands of the Missouri River.
The old buildings are present
lyon the land used by thl
Charles Russell Game Rangl
and the U. S. Army Engineer!
have recommended Rock'
Point for recognition as' a;
historic site which will' assurl
its I>reservation and, 'possibly
eventual rest.oration.
Christmas 1974 "3B
NEWS,ARGUS
Sunday, December 22, 1974

Rocky Point crossing, on the Missouri River, was just below the mouth of the creek named North Mountain by Lewis and Clark in 1805. This stream running south from the Little Rockies later became Little Rocky Mountain Creek and finally Rock Creek. There is a solid shale reef at this point which provides a solid bottom and a low-water ford. Through the first half of the nineteenth century this location remained one of the recognized bends in the great river in the area between the mouth of the Musselshell and the mouth of the Judith Rivers, a crossing used by the buffalo and the Indian tribes and a campsite used by travelers on the river.

Rocky Point was prominent river crossing in 1800’s
By Ralph Miracle
December 22, 1974
(Editor’s note: the following history of Rocky Point, on the Missouri River north of Roy, was written for the Lewistown News-Argus by Ralph Miracle of Santa Barbara, CA)
Rocky Point crossing, on the Missouri River, was just below the mouth of the creek named North Mountain by Lewis and Clark in 1805. This stream running south from the Little Rockies later became Little Rocky Mountain Creek and finally Rock Creek. There is a solid shale reef at this point which provides a solid bottom and a low-water ford. Through the first half of the nineteenth century this location remained one of the recognized bends in the great river in the area between the mouth of the Musselshell and the mouth of the Judith Rivers, a crossing used by the buffalo and the Indian tribes and a campsite used by travelers on the river.
With the advent of the steamboats on the upper river starting in 1860 the flat on the south side of the river became one of the many woodchopper camps that were located all along the river to provide fuel for the fires to make steam propel the laboring boats.
First specific mention of Rocky Point as a woodchoppers’ camp seems to be 1868 when Lohmire and Lee are mentioned as located there. A scouting party travelling the river from Camp Reeves at the mouth of the Musselshell back to Camp Cooke reported a “Taber’s cabin” along the south bank. In 1871 fugitives from an Indian encounter sought refuge at Rocky Point woodchopper’s camp. In 1873 Joe LaFountain was at Rocky Point.
During the election of 1878, a two-room cabin at Rocky Point was used as the polling place. Carroll, just below Rocky Point received attention through Diamond R promotion and establishment of Carroll Trail 1874-1876, but the trail was dangerous. Finally Broadwater interests transferred to Rocky Point, designated as Wilder’s landing in the early 1880’s.
Fort Maginnis was established in 1880 and the discoveries at Maiden intensified interest in Rocky Point as a landing point. The mill machinery for Maiden was unloaded at Rocky Point and the army established Cantonment Rocky Point (May 15, 1881) to provide protection for military freight at that place.
During the steamboat era (1860-85) many of the larger boats with freight for Fort Benton unloaded at Rocky Point during low-water periods and their cargoes were either freighted on by land or picked up by smaller boats or at the next high-water season.
In 1882 the military telegraph line from Fort Buford, N.D. via Camp Poplar, Galpin, and Rocky Point to Ft. Maginnis was completed and one office opened in Rocky Point.
With the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 things began to change along the river. The buffalo trade was over and the country was developing as a cattle range. Carroll, even as a small trading post, was deserted, but the discovery of placer gold in the Little Rockies in 1884 gave new life to Rocky Point.
Since the gold was in Indian territory the easiest way to avoid the military was to boat down the river to Rocky Point, outfit at R.A. Richie’s store, cross on his ferry and proceed to the diggings some 20 mile north.
M.F. Marsh reported that Kid Curry and his brother, Hank, stopped by later and moved on to ride for the Circle Bar. There was an effort to abandon the voting precinct of Rocky Point, but some 34 votes were cast just the same.
In 1885 the Castle discoveries were made and Fergus County was organized. Rocky point consisted of one store, one hotel, one feed stable, two saloons, a blacksmith shop and ferry operated by Jimmy Tyler. One store was run by Richie and the other, providing a warehouse 40 by 90 feet, was run by M.F. Marsh, who also ran his bar and hotel.
In 1886 there were 53 votes cast in the election and the judges were: Richie, Tyler, and Pike Landusky. St Paul’s Mission was established up north on People’s Creek and the official post office was Wilder with Robert A. Richie as postmaster.
The Great Northern reached Helena in 1887 and the riverboat trade was finally to end the next year. Nevertheless, one hundred and twenty are reported to have wintered in Rocky Point utilizing the store, two saloons and an eating house. There was a robbery of Marsh’s till perpetrated by George Blanche. There were still military personnel in town and just down the river the Circle Bar cow camp had twenty cowboys on the payroll. This was the bad winter that struck so hard at the cattle industry and many herds were slated to move north with some crossing at Rocky Point.
In 1888 the last boat went to Fort Benton and Walter S. Collins was postmaster. Marsh’s saloon burned down and he rented a building from E.C. Bartlett. Only 21 votes were cast in the election and veteran merchant R.A. Richie moved to Glasgow where he died of typhoid fever.
In 1889 Montana became a State. Philander D. Freese, Marsh’s ranch partner, became postmaster. All of Choteau County south of the Missouri River was traded off to Fergus County for $2,500, so Rocky Point (or Wilder) became part of Fergus County.
Fort Maginnis was abandoned in 1890. The next year (1891), M.F. Marsh bought the Spokane House in Big Sandy from Paul Handley and P.D. Freese moved with him to man the desk.
Marsh was still listed as postmaster in 1894 at Rocky Point and then it was transferred to Fredrick. J. Bourdon. In 1895 A.L. Monroe was appointed postmaster on July 26th and in October, James Tyler took over.
As the century ended, Rocky Point still remained as a river crossing with a ferry and with an operating store and bar to serve the surrounding cattle and mining country. Later the Wilder post office was moved down the river. The mostly abandoned buildings remained and some are still to some extent intact.
Tex Alford maintained a place for refreshment and even into the prohibition years Rocky Point was still on “the owlhoot trail” for those who wanted to take advantage of its continued isolation in the badlands of the Missouri River.
The old buildings are presently on the land used by the Charles Russell Game Range, and the U.S. Army Engineers have recommended Rocky Point for recognition as an historic site which will assure its preservation and, possibly eventual preservation.

..
< ' Rocky Point was prominent
river crossing in 1800's
.
itor's note: J'he following
hisTOfy of Rocky Point, on the
¥issouri River north of Roy,
was written' for the Lewistown
News-Argus by Ralph Miracle
of Santa Barbara, Calif.)
'Rocky Point Crossing, on the
Missouri River, was just below _
the mouth of the creek named
, North Mountain by Lewis and
Clark in' 1805. This stream
tunning south from the Little
Rockies later became' Little
Rocky Mountain .Creek and­finally
Rock Creek. There is a
'solid shale reef at" this point
which provides a solid bottom
and a low-water ford. Through
the first half, of the nineteenth
ce51tury this location remained
, one of the recognized bends in
the great river in the area
between the mouth of the
Musselshell and the mouth of,
the Judith Rivers, a crossing
used by the buffalo and the
Indian tribes and ca campsite
used by traveler~ on the river.
With the' advent of the
. sf 'boats on the upper river
s,~g in 1860 the flat on the
south side of the river became
one of the many woodchopper
camps that were located all
along the river to provide fuel
for the fires to make steam to
propel the laboring boats. ,
First specific mention' of
Rocky Point' as a woodchop­pers'
camp se~ms to be 1868
when Lohmire and Lee are
mentioned as located there. A
scouting party traveling the
river from Camp Reeves at the
mouth of the Musselshell back
to Camp Cooke reported a
"Taber's cabin" along the south
bank. In 1871 fugitives'from an
Indian encounter sought refuge
at Rocky Point woodchopper's
camp. In 1873 Joe LaFontain
was at Rocky Point. '
During the election of 1878 a
two-room cabin ai, Rockv Point
was used as the polling place:
Carroll, j'!st below Rocky Point
rec~ived attention through Dia­mond
R promotion and estab­lishment
of Carroll Trail 1874- '
187/;. ,but the trail was danger­o
"inally Broadwater inter~
e~ransferredto Rocky Point,
designated as Wilder's landing
in the early 1880's.
Fort Maginnis was establish-'
ed in 1880 andth~:dis'coveries 'at
Maiden intensifiecf iriterest ' in
Rocky.Point as a landing' point..
The mIll machinery for Maiden
was unloaded 'at 'Rocky Point
and the \army established Can­tonment
Rocky £oint (May 15,
1881) to provide protection for
milita~y freight at that place.
,During the steamboat era
(1860-85) many of the larger
boats with freight for Fort
Benton unloaded at Rocky Point
during low-water periods and
their cargoes were either
freighted on by land or picked
up by smaller boats or at the
next high-water season. '
In 1882 the miiitary teleg~aph
line from Fort Buford, N. D. via
,Camp Poplar, Galpin and
Rocky Point to, Fort 'Maginnis
was completed and one' office
opened in Rocky Point.
With the completion of the
Northern Pacific Railroad in
1883 things began to change
along the river. The buffalo
trade was over and the country
was developing as a cattle
range. Carroll,even as a small
trading post, was deserted but
the disc'overy of placer goid in
the Little Rockies in 1884 gave
new life to Rocky Point.
Since the gold was in Indian
territory the easiest way to
avoid the military was to boat
down the river to Rocky Point,
outfit at R. A. Richie's store, '
cross on his ferry and proceed
to the diggings some 20 miles
north.." .
M. F. Marsh reported t at
Kid Curry and his brother,
Hank, stopped by and later
moved on to ride for the Circle
Bar. There was an effort to
abandon the voting precinct of
Rocky Point, but some 34 votes'
were cast just the same.
In 1885 the Castle discoveries
were made and Fergus County
was organized. Rocky Point
:c.onsist~dof one store, one hotel,
vne feed stable, two saloons, a
hl~clmfiiHi s!i6p aiia rerry
operated by Jimmy Tyler. One
'store was run by'Richiean'd the
other, providing a warehouse 40
by90 feet, was run by M. F,
Marsh, who also ran his bar and
hotel. '~ ,
In 1886 there were 53 votes
cast in the election and the
judges were: Richie Tyler and
Pike Landusky. Sf. Paul's
Mission was established up
,north on People's Creek and the
official post office was Wilder
,with Robert A. Richie as
postmaster,
The Great Northern reached
Helena in 1887 and the riverboat
trade was finally to end the next
year. Nevertheless, one hurt­dred
and twenty are reported to
have wintered in Rocky Point '
utilizing the store, two saloons
and an eating house. There was
a robbery of Marsh's till
perpetuated by~George Blan­che.
There were still military
personnel in town and just down
the river the, Circle Bar
cowcamp had twenty, cowboys
on the payroll. This was the bad
winter that struck so hard at the
cattle industry and many herds
were slated to move north with
some crossing at Rocky Point.
In 1888 the last boat went to
Fort Benton and WalterS.
Collins was postmaster.
,Marsh's saloon burned 'down
and he rented a building from
~~ Bartlett. Only 21 votes
were cast in the election and
veteran tne'rchant R. A.-Ritchie
moved to Glasgow where he
died of typhoid fever.
In 1889 Montana: became a
state, Philander D. Freese
Marsh's ranch partner, becain~
postmaster.' All of Choteau
County ,south of the Missouri
River was traded off to Fergus
, Co~nty' for .$2,500,' so ·Rocky
Po~nt (or, ,Wlld~r) becam~ Plu~t
of Fergus C~up.ty., '\".'
'1":"1 __"- .... ,, _ _ ! 0"' .
Fort Maginnis was abandon
ed in 1890. The next year (1891
M.F. Marsh bought thl
Spokane House in Big Sand'
'from Paul Handley and P. Ii
Freese moved with him to mal
'the desk.'
Marsh was still listed a
postmaster in, 1894 at Rock
Point and then it was transfer
red to Fredrick J. Bourdon. II
1895 A; L. Monroe was appoint
~d postmaster on July ?6th an4
In October James Tyler tool
over.
As the century ended: Rock'
Point still remained as a rive~
crossing with aferry and wit!
an operating store and bar tl
serve the surrounding catU4
and mining country. Later thl
Wilder post office was move(
down the river. The mostl'
abandoned buildings remaine;
and some are still to som4
extent intact.
Tex Alford maintained I
place for,refreshment and evel
into the prohibition years
Rocky~oint was still on "thl
owlhoot trail" for those wh(
wanted to takeadvant.age of it:
continued isolation in the bad
lands of the Missouri River.
The old buildings are present
lyon the land used by thl
Charles Russell Game Rangl
and the U. S. Army Engineer!
have recommended Rock'
Point for recognition as' a;
historic site which will' assurl
its I>reservation and, 'possibly
eventual rest.oration.
Christmas 1974 "3B
NEWS,ARGUS
Sunday, December 22, 1974